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PODCAST

Orthodox Conundrum

The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don"t exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

01:13:07

Staying Human in a Time of Inhumanity: Spiritual...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2024/01/08

Dr. Erica Brown has been a guest on the Orthodox Conundrum twice in the past six months: once, in episode 170, about leadership, and again in episode 176 about the theology of Kohelet. It's unprecedented to have a guest back so frequently in a short time frame, but Erica’s voice is one which needs to be heard by as many people as possible. Erica composed a type of memoir or spiritual diary in the two months between Simchat Torah and Chanukah, where she openly discussed her thoughts and feelings

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01:08:04

The Ethics of War, Torah Values, and the IDF: Is the...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2024/01/01

“The IDF is the most moral army on earth.” We hear this said, and we hope that it’s true. But what does it mean? How is morality defined in wartime? Is the IDF Code of Ethics in line with Jewish teachings? Does the IDF in fact follow its own Code of Ethics? Alongside these general questions, are specific questions that relate to the Torah viewpoint regarding what an army is obligated to do ethically when it is at war. What does Judaism have to say about the ethics of war, and are these ethics

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48:32

The Inability to Hold Two Truths at the Same Time:...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/12/18

It has been tremendously disheartening to hear the reactions (or lack thereof) to Hamas’s crimes of October 7th. One of the most obvious instances of this has been the silence of too many organizations dedicated to the protection of women, regarding the rape and mutilation of Israeli victims by Hamas terrorists as they rampaged through southern Israel. There is abundant evidence of gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas. However, many people who choose to support Hamas are engaged in gaslighting

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01:21:52

Three Approaches to a Different & Unique Chanukah:...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/12/11

So many people have noted that there are significant parallels between the Jewish world as it exists after the October 7th pogrom and the subsequent war with an enemy determined to wipe Jews and Judaism off the map, and the themes that we pay attention to on Chanukah. In order to discuss some of these ideas in greater depth, and consider the ways that we can uniquely relate to them in 2023, Scott was honored to invite three favorite podcast guests back to the Orthodox Conundrum: Rabbi Judah Mischel,

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01:01:00

Effective and Honest Hasbara: Learning How to Do It...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/12/04

Since Israel’s war against Hamas began following the horrific events of October 7th, one of the singular challenges Israel faces has been explaining its position to the world, or what’s called in Hebrew, hasbara. It’s never easy defending Israel in the media, never mind going on the offensive; with a natural skepticism of everything that Israel does, combined with some obvious latent antisemitism, many often portray Israel as seemingly having nefarious intentions, and regularly violating the rules

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01:04:25

"A Biblical-Level Event": October 7th, the Chareidi...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/11/27

Many believe that the events of October 7th and their aftermath will lead to a major realignment in many aspects of Israeli and Jewish life. One of the most acute and obvious is the issue of ultra-orthodox deferments from the Israeli military. These deferments are granted based on the assumption that the Torah study in yeshivot is a vital part of the war effort, and on a metaphysical level is a major reason (and perhaps the major reason) for the Israeli army's success. But is this based on an

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01:11:30

Living with Tension: Maintaining Faith and Dealing...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/11/20

The events of the past six weeks - the massacre on October 7th, the kidnappings, the sudden sense of insecurity within Israel - alongside the almost immediate and massive increase in antisemitism around the world, and open calls for the end of the State of Israel in ways that we have never experienced before - have thrown many Jews for a tailspin. Many people have expressed a desire to increase their religious devotion, while others have questioned God and wondered how He could have let this

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01:05:26

The Importance of Not Getting What You Want: Sefer...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/11/13

Two months ago, on September 8th, Scott recorded an interview with Dr. Micah Goodman about Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. The interview was fascinating, both because of the theological insights that Micah provided, and also because of the way that he was able to relate Moshe’s words to current events in the State of Israel. The terrible Hamas massacre of October 7th has changed everything - and Micah Goodman's insights in this interview are now more relevant than ever. He sees Moshe’s

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55:58

The Worldwide Rise in Antisemitism, and What Comes...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/11/06

Everyone who listens to this podcast has heard about the waves of antisemitism that have been engulfing the world ever since October 7th; I’m sure that many people who listen have also experienced some of that antisemitism first hand. There is something so fundamentally Orwellian when the reaction to the slaughter of 1400 innocent people and the kidnapping of about 250 hostages is to demonstrate against the victims of the massacre. And that was before Israel responded; now that Israel is defending

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46:22

While Israel Slept: Questions, Puzzles, Issues, and...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/10/30

There are so many questions about where the State of Israel is heading after this war, and so many puzzles about how we ended up in such a precarious position in the first place. We are rightly proud of the sense of unity that we are currently experiencing; but we cannot let it blind us to the reality that things have to change in the future in order to make sure that Israel is not again lulled into a false sense of security. In this episode, Scott spoke with Yaakov Katz, senior fellow at the Jewish

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01:00:56

G-d Wants Us to Fight Evil: Thinking About the War...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/10/23

Israel's war against Hamas has brought the Jewish people together in ways many of us have never before experienced. It also has brought new halachic and hashkafic challenges to light that, as religious Jews, we are obligated to address. In this episode, Scott spoke to Rav Yoni Rosensweig about some of these challenges, including the right and wrong way to engage in self-reflection, what sorts of actions we can all be doing now in order to help the war effort and ourselves, the ways that we should

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24:52

I'm So Proud of the Jewish People, and Other...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/10/17

After ten days of war in Israel, Scott talks about the Jewish People, the Divine Presence, people who are emulating the wicked son from the Pesach Seder, why Jews Who Matter need to read the Book of Esther, meaningful support from wonderful people who are not Jewish, and more. It might be disorganized, and it might seem random... but maybe that's the most honest kind of podcast after the events of the past week. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox

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42:22

The Catastrophic Success of Hamas, and Israel's...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/10/12

There are so many questions, and people want to know what's actually happening. In this special rush-released episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Scott speaks with Dr. Matthew Levitt about Israel's war against Hamas. Among the issues they discuss are why Hamas decided to commit these atrocities now, what Hamas expected to occur and what actually took place, whether Hamas anticipated Israel's full response, the possibility of a multi-front war, if Jews should be concerned about Khaled Mashal's call

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47:52

There Was Before... And Now There's After:...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/10/09

In this special episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Scott spoke with Talli Rosenbaum to discuss ways to deal with the very real trauma and emotional distress that the war in Israel has caused, whether or not we live in Israel. He also talked with David Lange of Israellycool.com to get a brief overview of the way that this conflict has been portrayed in the media and over social media - both the good and the distressing. Scott also offers his own reflections on what the war means, and how people who

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01:06:40

"A Theology of Distraction": Exploring the Conundrums...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/09/26

Megilat Kohelet is one of the most difficult books in Tanach: it jumps back and forth between conflicting assumptions, it lacks any obvious narrative or thematic structure, and its statements sometimes seem at odds with what most people would consider standard Rabbinic theology. People didn’t discover these problems today, of course; the Mishnah in Masechet Yadayim questions whether Kohelet was canonized as part of the Bible or not. Moreover, Masechet Shabbat 30b reports in the name of Rav that the

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01:08:22

Guilt and Shame, Repentance and Redemption: A Deeper...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/09/18

The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are dedicated to teshuva, commonly translated as “repentance” or “return.” According to the Rambam’s classic formulation, repentance consists of three elements: regret, determination not to repeat the sin in the future, and confession. In many ways it sounds relatively simple… though in practice, it’s often much more difficult. Moreover, from a psychological perspective, the processes of repenting, apologizing, and forgiving are very complex. What

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01:03:02

"It's About Holding People in their Pain":...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/09/11

Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment, but it also represents renewal, hope, confidence, and optimism as we look toward the future. This is expressed in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in the Torah reading of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, where we read that Sarah, after a lifetime of being unable to have children, gave birth to Yitzchak at the age of ninety. In the haftarah of that same day, we read the similar story of Chanah, who was barren until G-d accepted her prayer; she gave birth to

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28:37

When God Says No: A Pre-Selichot Conversation with...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/09/06

The tefilot of the Yamim Nora’im - starting from Selichot and continuing through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - are deep and meaningful, but also long and often quite hard to understand. But that difficulty is minor compared with the theological problem of how to relate to God when our prayers go unanswered... when He seems to have abandoned us... when rather than a divine nod of approval, we feel like we are getting God’s cold shoulder. This is a topic which Scott discussed over the past two weeks

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01:14:28

"I Didn't Know There Could Be a Bad Rabbi":...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/08/28

What may a teacher or kiruv professional do in order to make people frum? Do the ends of bringing people closer to Torah justify the means of manipulating them emotionally? And even if the methodology is valid in some way, does it even work? According to Scott, playing mind games in the service of religion is not just wrong, but literally abusive. It potentially causes trauma, and further cements, in both the teacher and the students, the damaging idea that the teacher has special access to

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01:16:31

Should We Sympathize with Sexual Offenders? (Special...

Orthodox Conundrum ·

2023/08/20

A podcast hosted by an Orthodox comedian recently featured a controversial interview with a child sex offender. In response, Rabbi Scott Kahn and Talli Rosenbaum created a panel to discuss whether there are potential benefits to learning more about people who struggle with attraction to minors and do not offend, as well as those who do. (This episode contains explicit material regarding sexual abuse that some readers may find disturbing.) Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know

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306 results

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